While numerous systems of high speed transportation have been developed, including several for low occupancy vehicles, none have reached the point of general applicability to today's traveling public and certainly not to the level of attraction for individuals. None of the personal units, now operational, have developed any significant speed capability.
Many of the systems currently in operation depend on a significant infrastructure. Each system requires a user to migrate from their personal form of transportation to a system car or vehicle.
While train systems meet many of the standards of high speed, wide area transportation, they have experienced no substantial gain in ridership percentage over the recent history, and have become very expensive to construct. Personal automobiles provide much of surface transportation, and this percentage has increased over the past two decades.
To understand why rail and personal rapid transit (PRT) systems have not been successful in attracting a higher percentage of surface transportation usage, we need look no further than the psychology of the American automobile owner, and a trend that is expanding globally as automobile ownership reaches into the depths of world population.
Americans want to own or lease, for several years or longer, their automobiles, vans, sport utility vehicles and personal trucks. Pride of ownership is paramount. Vehicles may be a reflection of a person's ego and sense of worth. They are often customized and almost always chosen for their options, colors, and curb appeal. A person, under the current parameters of transportation, simply will not likely give up their pride of ownership, or the degree of flexibility that a personal vehicle offers.